Base-ball-game apparatus.



E. IVI. WATKINS. BASE BALL GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. 1917.

E. M. WATKNS.

BASE BALL GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAELZ. 1911.

Patented Jun@ 1s, 1918.'

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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' BASE-BALL-GAME ABPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 1d, 191%..

Application lcd March 2, 1917. Serial No. 151,969.

To cZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that li, FDMOND M. Warmers, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of N ew York, in the county of Kings andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBase-Ball-Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

rfhe present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for playinggaines indoors, and more particularly to an apparatus'for playingbaseball upon a board that represents a baseball s diamond.

rThe main ob]- ect of the present invention is to provide means wherebythe game may be played with all the rules of an outdoor game, andwhereby nearly all of the realistic effects may be produced.

Another object of the invention is to de vise an apparatus of thecharacter described which can be manufactured on a commerlcial scale, orin other wordsone which is not so difficult to produce as to be beyondthe reasonable cost of such a device.

With these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear asthe nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists inthe combination, arrangement, and construction of parts hereinafterdescribed, pointed out in the appended claim and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be madein the size and proportion of the several parts and detailsofconstruction within the scope of the appended claim without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. p

One of the many possible embodiments of the invention is 'illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:- y

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a baseball apparatus constructed inaccordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a section taken on line2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through ya portion of the apparatus and the mechanical batting device in itsreleased position, on a larger scale; Fig. L1y is a similar section withthe batting device in its cocked or operative position; Fig. 5 is asection taken on line '5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a top plan View, partlyin section, of the detail shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 7 is a section takenon line 7 7 of Fig. 6.

The improved game comprises a rectangular board 10, provided all aroundwith an upturned :flange or railing 11, that is adapted to prevent theball from rolling 0H the edge thereof. rThe board has leveling` screwsl2 for the well-known purpose, said screws resting upon a table orsimilar support. rFhe board is covered with cloth, denoted by thenumeral 10, t permit of a smooth rolling of a ball thereon. Upon theboard is mounted a mechanical bat-ting device 13, the construction ofwhich will bedescribed hereinafter. 1n front of this batting device islaid out the diamond 14, and arranged just outside of the diamond andadjacent the three bases are three mechanical basemen and theshort-stop. rilhese mechanical basemen and the short-stop are denoted bythe numerals 15, and comprise each a substantially Z-shaped member, madeof sheet metal that is somewhat resilient, such as steel. The lowerflange 16 of each of these members rests upon the covering of the board,and is attached to the latter by screws 17, passing through the saidflange into thesaid board. rlhe upper flanges 18 of the mechanicalfielders are slightly inclined toward the board and face the mechanicalbatter. `The distance between the covering 10 of the board and thelowermost edge of a flange 18 is somewhat smaller than the diameter ofthe ball used in playing the game. 1n rear of the four infielders abovementioned are arranged three other and larger ones, formed in a similarmanner and denoted by the numerals 19. rlilhese members represent thethree outfielders of the game. 1n rear of the iniielders is marked onthe covering 10 an arc-shaped line 20, and in rear of the outfielders asimilar line `21, for a purpose hereinafter to be described.y lin thefar 0E corners of the board are marked lines 22, and in the longitudinalaXis of the board between the lines 22 is marked a line Q3, the purposeof which while intermediate the ends is formedupon the plunger a stop28, that is adapted, 1n the projected position of the plunger, to abutmounted upon a spindle 31, the latter being rotatably j ournaled in thesides of the housing24. To this spindle is furthermore attached a lugl32tlie l'free end or which is seated ina slot 3B or a lever 34:, thelatter being'I u'lcrumed at 35 to the housing 24 and is under theactionof a blade spring 36. Against. the free end of the lever 34 bears atrigger 37, in the tormbf a lever that is fulcrume'd at 38 to' one ofthe railing sections 11 olf the board, and disposed within a re'- cessj39 inthe said railing section. The free end or theV trigger is made inthe torni of a knob 40, projecting above the railing section.

On the two sides of the housing 24 are disposed mechanical catches'41;'1, similar in configuration to the mechanical ielders, they being,however, mounted upon the board 10 i'n'such a manner that they face thefielders are adapted to arrest a ball that is rolled or thrown towardthe batter from any point of the diamond'lt or from" points beyond thesame.' o y l y AIAThe operation ofthe batter is as follows: The plunger25 is forced manually' from the position shown in Fig.' 3 of tliedrawings into the one illustrated in Fig; 4, in which the sear or pawl30 engages'with theshoulder' 27 on the said plunger, thereby holding theplunger cocked7 against the action of the spring l2thereon. The spring36 keeps, by the intermediary of the lug 32 and lever 34, the sear vorpawl in engagementl with the said shoulder. If, now, thevknob 420l isdepressed, the se'ar or pawl is disengaged from the said shoulder, whichpermits the spring 42 to actV and to project the plunger 25. From thisit appears that a ball rolled man# ually toward the plunger 25 isadapted to be battedfby the same, if the said plunger is projected orreleased in proper time.

To play the game on this board two persons are necessary and variousrules may be estab],ished` y One person, stai'idingnear the railingsection 11 that constitutes the far'- thest end of the outeld, pitchesmanually the ball by rolling it toward the mechanical batter, and asecond person controls the batter by lmeans of the knob Ll0. rlhepitcher rolls the ball toward the plunger 25, and may readilycontrol itsdirection and velocity. He is also in a position, by some practice,t'o""pitcli` the ball either in a straight line or a curved line to meetthe plunger squarely or at its sides, thereby controlling the directionin which the ball will be batted. The person manipulating the batter,presses down the button fl() in time to meet the ball pitched toward it,to project the same in the opposite direction. lr a ball is batted intoany one of the ielders, or comes to rest inside the line' 20, the batterwill be considered out, while if the ball comes to rest between thelines 20 and 2l, but not in any one oli the ielders, the batter will beconsidered to have made a one base hit, and it the ball stops outside otthe line 2l, the batter will be'considered to have made a two-base hil-It the ball is batted within the line 23, a homerun will be scored. Itbatted into the lines a three-base hit will be scored. lt the ball iscaught by any one of the lielders it will be considered as having beenproperly fielded and the batter as having batted out. On the sides orthe batter there are' two catchers, in contradistinctiou to the regularbaseball game, where only one catcher is employed. i

lt is obvious that any other rules, dilliering from those hereinmentioned, may be established for the playing of the game.

lVhat I claim is:

An apparatus of the class described, comprising a board, and meanslocated on said board for batting a ball, said means including asupport, a spring-pressed plunger slidably mounted thereon, a scaradapted to hohl said plunger in .its retracted position, a lug attachedto said scar, a spring-pressed lever fulerumed to said support having aslot in which said lug is seated, and a trigger bearing against saidlever. d

Signed at New York, in the county ot New York, and State of New York,this 9th day of January, A. D. 1917.

EDMOND M. VVATKINS.

Cepiesofthi's' patent nia'y be' obtained for ve cents each, byaddressing' the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

